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American Literature’s Aesthetic Dimensions

Weinstein, Cindy and Looby, Christopher (2012) American Literature’s Aesthetic Dimensions. Columbia University Press , New York, NY. ISBN 9780231156165. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20180827-101604642

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Abstract

Rethinking the category of aesthetics in light of recent developments in literary theory and social criticism, the contributors to this volume showcase the interpretive possibilities available to those who bring politics, culture, ideology, and conceptions of identity into their critiques. Essays combine close readings of individual works and authors with more theoretical discussions of aesthetic theory and its relation to American literature. In their introduction, Weinstein and Looby argue that aesthetics never left American literary critique. Instead, the essay casts the current "return to aesthetics" as the natural consequence of shortcomings in deconstruction and new historicism, which led to a reconfiguration of aesthetics. Subsequent essays demonstrate the value and versatility of aesthetic considerations in literature, from eighteenth-century poetry to twentieth-century popular music. Organized into four groups—politics, form, gender, and theory—contributors revisit the canonical works of Henry James, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Stephen Crane, introduce the overlooked texts of Constance Fenimore Woolson and Earl Lind, and unpack the complexities of the music of The Carpenters. Deeply rooted in an American context, these essays explore literature's aesthetic dimensions in connection to American liberty and the formation of political selfhood.


Item Type:Book
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
https://cup.columbia.edu/book/american-literatures-aesthetic-dimensions/9780231156165PublisherBook
Additional Information:© 2012 Columbia University Press.
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:20180827-101604642
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20180827-101604642
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:89166
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: Tony Diaz
Deposited On:27 Aug 2018 17:20
Last Modified:03 Oct 2019 20:13

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